How PunchOut Catalog is a Superior Alternative to CIF Catalog

Not happy using CIF catalog? Looking for a simpler way to connect your site with the buyer’s procurement system? Well, it’s time to use PunchOut catalog, a dynamic application that comes with a number of benefits. It can make things easier when it comes to interacting with B2B customers.

Here’s why using PunchOut is a better choice:

Supports Frequent Changes

Being a dynamic product, keeping the catalog up to date is no longer a complicated task. This is because, you don’t have to reload the entire catalog in order to make these changes. So whether you want to add or remove products or change pricing, it can be done easily. No wonder, when the catalog content changes frequently, it is often advised to use Punchout. Moreover, as a supplier whatever changes you make in this catalog are immediately available to the customer in real time. Real time price and availability is an important feature of PunchOut catalog solution, which helps to improve order accuracy.

On the other hand, a CIF catalog is static. Hence changing its content no matter how small, is a time-consuming activity.  So if your business requires updating the catalog many times, using a CIF catalog can become a major source of burden.

Better Representation of Products

Handling complexity in products is also a major problem with CIF catalog.  The CIF-line data format provides little space for product description and technical specifications. Because of the line item style, representing product configurations in this catalog is difficult.

PunchOut catalog provides a better way to showcase your products. Data that includes product name, descriptions along with the photos can be represented in a more appealing way using this catalog. You can also maintain highly configured products in this catalog.

Ariba is a popular procurement software company that offers PunchOut services. Ariba PunchOut catalog ensures a customized experience for its users and simplifies the purchasing process.

On the whole, a CIF catalog comes with several drawbacks. Hence, if you want to improve communication with buyer, it is time to switch over to PunchOut.